Praise God for only one child in diapers

I spent the last three days house/babysitting for a family I used to work for and I am now dog tired. While their children are sweet, it has definately made me decide to wait to have another child until Henry can navigate going up and down stairs safely on his own. Egads, my back, my aching back! Their children are Eva, 6, Corbin, 4, Elan, 3, and Quinn, 14 months. Between Quinn and Henry, I had to make many trips up and down stairs. I am soooo thankful that I had the forethought to take the exceraucer. But Henry had loads of fun having so many playmates and it was funny to see him skid around on the hard wood floors. He'd be crawling along fine, and then, splat, and it'd take him a couple of tries to get back on the move.

Corbin, Henry, Elan, and Quinn enjoy playing in Henry's playpen while I scurried around our condo to pick up a few things I forgot!

Batman (Corbin) and Bat Bear. Oddly enough, Bat Bear bears a striking resemblance to our very own "Baby P" bear. Should we change our Baby P to Bruce Wayne?

Henry, Eva, and Corbin chill while I fix lunch. Poor Henry spent a lot of time in his excersaucer.

Henry shares the exersaucer toys with Quinn. The two of them spent a lot of time together doing this with Quinn just circling the saucer.

Henry enjoys their Thomas the Tank Engine tent. Mainly, he like the feel of the velcro.

9 months old

Henry is 9 months old today! Yippee! So much has happened in the past week, much less the past nine months. I am a bit overwhelmed by it all and God's enormous goodness to our family. So the stats--Henry weighs 20 lbs and is 29 inches long. That's around the 40% in weight and 75% in height. Dr. Hoagato said she was sure that his ear infections caused him to lose a bit of weight, but that she is very proud of him and he is thriving. His ears look great and to top it all off, he didn't even flinch when he got his finger pricked and barely even squealed when he got his polio vaccine. She did warn me, however, that his top gums are severely swollen and to expect some more teeth in the next week. And sure enough, it was like Henry heard this and since getting home from the Doctor's office he is very clingy and fussy. Thank God for baby Tylenol.

He also had his first taste of meat today--ham. I thought since I had so much bacon while he was in utero, ham might be a good first meat. It smelled disgusting, but Henry loved it!

We also tried having a little photo shoot for Valentine's cards but Henry wasn't interested. And Mommy has fallen in love with a new baby product--BABYLEGS! They are leg warmers for babies and they make changing diapers a breeze in the winter as usually I have to unsnap a billion onesies and pants, but when we're just chillin' at home--it is now jammies for me and babylegs for Henry!

Mom, I know I look adorable with this heart on top of me, but seriously, if this photo ever gets out--I'm soooo getting beat up at recess.

I know, Mommy, I'm only supposed to put food in my mouth. But this rope feels so good on my gums. What? Are you wanting me to look at you? You should have thought about that before you stuck me in my toy bucket.

I think this felt heart looks good enough to eat. I'm sure it is full of fiber.

I do not want my picture taken. I want to see what is over here on my bookshelf. I might be able to find a choking hazard and you just know I love those. But enjoy the view, Mommy. It has been said that I have a breathtaking heiny.

Fine, I'll sit still so you can take a picture of me in my babylegs. But I won't enjoy it.

Ooh, I've just noticed that Mommy left the door to my prison open. She calls it a corral, but last time I checked, I'm not a horse. Let's call it what it is--a big baby cage.

Chief Poopy Pants

Long time, no post. Mainly because I left our camera in Tennessee last weekend and my cousin, Jamie, is shipping it back. Yeah, she called to let me know I'd left it on her Foosball table and I hadn't even realized it was gone. That is how things are going these days.

For starters, we made a whirlwind trip to Bristol, TN for my great-uncle's and my aunt's birthdays. Henry talked the WHOLE trip to and from TN without stopping. He slept for about an hour on the way there but, otherwise, he clucked, chortled, giggled, and basically spoke Cling-on for five hours straight. It was very sweet: I about went crazy. (As I type this I am listening to him summon aliens over the monitor as I just put him down to bed.) I told Sloan that it would be even more annoying in a couple of years when he was actually speaking to us and expecting us to respond to him. I am sure this is of my mother's doing as she claims she prayed I'd have a child like me.

Sloan has been traveling a lot lately with work so it has just been the Pickle and me. During this time, we are beginning to wave. Mainly, I wave at Henry and he raises his hand to me as if to say "How." When he does this, I call him Chief Poopy Pants. Sometimes he'll wiggle a finger or two when waved at, but the only person he really waves to is the weatherman on TV. So apparently, he wants nothing to do with Mommy or Daddy, but he must tell Andrew Freiden hello.

He also enjoys driving his little toy car. He loves honking the horn, making the lights flash, and once again, basically making as much noise as possible. This should not be a surprise as he is the son of two noisy people. He is also beginning to pull up to his knees using the sides of his corral (the PC name we've given his prison). I am trying to thwart this at all costs as I'm sure this will lead to standing and standing leads to walking and then I am totally lost. He also has begun to attempt the sippy cup (but never tilts his head back enough so he just sucks air) and to try to feed himself. This is messy and also brings new meaning to the phrase "Gag me with a spoon". We are also adding some things to the things Henry does not like list--grits from Cracker Barrel and avocado. He does, surprisingly, like spinach and just can't get enough of pears.

Also, I think he is working on getting his third tooth as he is a slobber factory and coughs a lot. This cough sometimes wakes him up and pretty much always wakes me up, so it has been a long couple of days. We have his 9-month check-up on Friday and I am interested to see how much this chubber weighs as he has been eating a lot lately. He is now wearing 18 month clothing. He used to be so tiny!

An old black sock and a measuring cup (Or more reasons I'll never be Mom of the Year)

So I finally settled on what picture to send in to Regis and Kelly. (See left-- I thought it best captured his angelic eyes, darling smile, and just the hint of his two twoofers.) I also have been wondering how to get Henry into modeling so he can buy his Mommy and Daddy a really big house and pay for his college and maybe even buy him a sibling or two. But then another part of me thinks that this is wrong to want to be pimping out my son and that his job is simply to grow and it is my job to take care of him--not the other way around. Oh well.


But he has been helping me more around the house. One of his favorite pastimes is folding laundry. Or at least pulling at it while I fold it. He particularly loves his father's socks. Apparently, they both taste good and are the perfect thing to shake. This began when he was sitting in his high chair. I'd given him some toys and was sitting at the kitchen table folding. He got hold of a sock and wouldn't play with anything else and refused to give it back. For like a week, my son's favorite toy was a sock. At least it was clean is all I can say in my defense. Now, I have learned to put the clean clothes on the couch away from him and simply trap him in the laundry basket with a couple of toys. And yet, he still always manages to end up with a sock. Another one of his favorite toys is a blue measuring cup. Oddly enough, he prefers the 1 cup over and above any of the other measuring cups. You would think we haven't bought him enough Baby Einstein junk or blocks or anything. I can hear him telling my grand kids now, "You guys should be grateful for what you have. When I was a kid, all I have to play with was an old black sock and a measuring cup."



He does, however, LOVE his bath time toys. But again, the measuring cups are a hit there as well. (I can remember one time before Henry was born, my nephew Jonathan was staying the night at our house and we gave him a bath. Having no tub toys, I handed him a whisk, a baster, and some Tupperware. His comment, "Aunt Elizabeth, these are the best toys ever. I wish we had some like this." He also enjoys his Scuba Steve that Santa put in his stocking and the blue bowl that they used at the hospital to bathe him with. It makes for a great hat.

My little shriner. I think he looks like a little Buddha here as well. (Notice the stupid blue measuring cup in the left bottom corner.)

Henry and Scuba Steve. He does not like it when I wind him up because then it does not feel good when he sticks his flippers in his mouth.

Just another reason I'll NEVER be Mom of the year. Look at this. This looks like something Britney would let her children do. And yet, it makes me laugh. He did not get hurt. In fact, he loves the water.

Bloated

I am swollen with my love for Sloan and Henry. Seeing them together is such a delight. I think if I were to take them to the Middle East, peace would be achieved. Their infatuation with one another is moving. Last night, I was feeding Henry and Sloan was gathering up the trash to take it out. When he opened the door to leave, Henry pushed the bottle out of his mouth and whimpered. Crestfallen, we had to assure him that Daddy would be back soon. He fussed the whole time Sloan was gone and upon his return, it was like the sun returned after a long rain. Henry was all smiles and dinner could resume. When Sloan walks up to him, he just starts kicking his legs, shaking his arms and giggling--so excited that Daddy has come to him. It is very sweet.

A beautiful day in the neighborhood...

First of all, my life is officially over as HENRY IS NOW CRAWLING!! Sometimes his crawls are a little on the leap frog side of crawling, but he definitely has gone from the air humping to actual hand and knee movement. His little knees are constantly red now. I try to remind myself that he is a little boy and they are supposed to have rough skin and scratches, but it still makes me sad.

In my college newspaper, right next to the crossword puzzle that I did daily in lieu of paying attention in class, there was always the horoscope that would begin with some weird new agey numerology thing saying: Today is a 6. You will fail a midterm, but you won't have any zits and your hair will look great. Well, Yesterday was a 10!! I wore flip flops; Henry went sans pants. (Isn't that when every man is happiest?) Who would have thought it would be such a beautiful day in January!! Henry and I looked at a house with a kick butt backyard. I think we are officially on the house hunt. Nothing definite yet, but the bigger Henry gets, the more we realize he needs a yard. And a dog. Okay, so he doesn't NEED a dog, but his mommy wants one.

We also headed out to the park where we had an impromptu photo shoot. I took about a gazillion pictures--no seriously, I took 84 pictures. We were only at the park about 40 minutes. I am trying to get a really cute picture of Henry to send in to Live with Regis and Kelly's beautiful baby contest. I'm pretty certain that Henry can win it. If he makes the finals, I will definitely be soliciting online votes from you, from your family, from your neighbors, from your ex-boyfriends, and even the people you meet in line at the grocery store. Henry had a blast crunching the leaves and gagging on pine needles.

Hey Mommy, aren't I cute? The next thing I am going to do is stick this pine needle up my nose and then start screaming!

I've settled back down and am an angel again. I like to relish in that I am the center of Mommy's world and she is totally obsessed with me. As she should be...

Mom, I do not understand why you are shaking my football over your head if you won't let me play with it. I don't care if it isn't cute and won't make for a good picture.

Mom, you do realize that if Dad finds out you had me down to my skivvies in public, he will kill you, right? Hey, look, over there--couldn't that be a pedophile?

I am so dang pretty. If I ever have a sister, she will be jealous of my eyes and my super long lashes. Mom sure is...

Mommy, it is my turn to play with the camera. It has buttons, and lights, and makes noises. I want it!!!

If you wont give me the camera, I will just crawl. That's right, I'll become mobile and then what will you do? Right now, I am going to crawl and try to kiss you. (aka bite your face.)

Aww, Mommy, is it really time to go? But I am having a blast. We don't have these crunchy things on the floor at home. We oughtta get some. But I sure do love you, Mommy. Come here and let me bite your face some more. MMMMM.

My favorite picture...

Rarely do I think I look pretty in a photograph. But for the first time, I am proud to tell you to go to www.blueinthestream.com and check out the models. This is definitely the best picture of me ever.

Red Heiny, Red Heiny, Send Henry right over

Henry still has a double ear infection. Apparently, the amoxicillan was only successful in giving him diarrhea and a killer diaper rash. I didn't know about the ears, but took him to the Doctor because his little rump was bleeding. So the doctor switched him to Augmentin, put him on a probiotic powder to help with the diarrhea, and told me to not use baby wipes, but to bath him every time he has a poopy instead. Henry is the cleanest little boy ever as he poops every time he toots. And we Phillips toot a lot. But his appetite is coming back and he is happy as he LOVES bath time, particularly with the new tub toys Santa and his Aunt Sonya gave him for Christmas. He also loves this noisy toy that his Aunt Stephanie gave him. If I hear, "Hello, Brainy Baby, let's sing a song!" one more time I'm going to go crazy!

New Years 2008

It is an annual tradition that I get together with a group of my sorority sisters and their spouses every year for New Years. This year was the first year where most of us had kids and while you would think it would make for a more tame time, we still whipped out the Karaoke machine and Ice luge. But having five kids under the age of 2 in a house, did make for an interesting time. There were monitors and pac and plays everywhere, chairs that sang, and at one time we watched The Wiggles. (We used to have Sex and the City marathons.) What also made it interesting was that our lovely hostess, Janell Cowley, had her gallbladder removed on December 27th and all of us showed up on the 30th. Talk about rallying. But where we had beer, she had her Oxycontin. Henry also received a late extra Christmas present from my sister's youngest, Isabel--A DOUBLE EAR INFECTION. We were up all night with him our last night in Greensboro and thought he had just caught a cold from her. But Sunday night, at Janell's, he had a fever of 102.1. His first real fever. So we stripped him down to his diaper, loaded him up on Tylenol, and put a cold rag on his head. (All at the direction of my friend Jackie's husband, Dr. Cary Bizzell--a radiologist, but a doctor, none the less.) So the next morning, we were at Janell's daughter's pediatrician when she opened. "Dr. Wendy" was very kind and said that his left ear was 75% full of puss and the right ear was 25% full. So Henry is now on Amoxicillin, which he does not like. I wonder if the doctor knows that I'm lucky to get Henry to swallow half of the medicine when they prescribe the amount. He is smiling more now than he did over the weekend, but he still was such the trooper. New Year's Eve night, everyone kept checking on the kids, and one by one they'd come downstairs and say, "Umm, Henry is not asleep. He is just babbling and talking to his blanket and his feet." He never really did get fussy, he just wasn't his usual giggly self and kept waking up. It broke Sloan and my hearts to see him so sad. His eyes were red, his nose constantly dripping, and he has a cough like he smokes 10 packs a day. Today he is much better. He still doesn't have his appetite back and coughs up a storm, but he giggles and smiles and kicks his legs like his old self. But even his babbling sounds congested--like he is the long lost son of Rachel Ray.

Jackie and Natalie Marie Bizell (4 months) sleeping soundly on the couch. Lots of lolling was done by all.

Adriane and Ava Morris (10 months). She is the only little girl to like wearing bows. Okay, maybe she doesn't like it--but she tolerates it.

Janell and Jenna Cowley (16 months). Doesn't Janell look great? Who would've thought she just had her gallbladder removed. Jenna had a difficult time sharing her mommy mainly because Janell can't pick her up for another 2 weeks!

The Queen Bee--by virtue that she is the oldest. Bennett Sanbourn--the 20 month old daughter of my senior year roommate--Lori Beth. My favorite thing she does is that she tells on herself before she does something she is not supposed to do. She'll say, "Bennett, No," and then do it anyway. Watch out Lori Beth and Rob!

Even Henry knows Carolina girls are the best in the world! From left to right--Bennett Sanbourn, Henry Phillips, Ava Morris, Natalie Bizzell, and Jenna Cowley. GO HEELS!

My New Year's Resolutions

1. To recognize that I have never completed ANY of my New Year's resolutions and to be okay with this.
2. To reconnect with old friends.
3. To take myself less seriously. (I am wondering if this is even possible. Should I cut myself anymore slack I'll just be dragging around a limp rope. Knowing me, I'll trip on "my slack," drop my baby, and slice my head open on some yet to be baby-proofed piece of furniture.)
4. Be more diligent with my writing. (I am working on a book about my fertility struggles and stint in the hospital.)
5. Snap at Sloan less. (I am hoping that one of Sloan's resolutions is to do fewer things that cause me to snap at him. That would be GREAT!)

Christmas 2007

Wow! A lot has happened since my last post. Fortunately, Henry has not had a repeat performance of Captain Poopy-no pants, although he did manage to pee on just about everyone who changed his diaper over the holidays.

We spent most of the Christmas holiday at my parents' house in Greensboro, NC. That first Saturday, Sloan and my dad went deer hunting (a losing hunt), but we were able to snap just about the cutest, and yet kind of creepy, picture of my three favorite men. My parents and I also taught Sloan how to play my parents card game of choice "Contract Rummy." Sloan is convinced that we are all cheaters as he was certain we kept changing the rules. Sunday was my niece Natalie's 4th birthday, and Henry got to crunch lots of wrapping paper, shove ribbons in his mouth, and wear a box on his head. Apparently, he enjoys being the "kid in the box."

We went to the Christmas Eve services at my parents' Megachurch, Westover, where we once again were reminded that a) Henry does not like loud noises, b) Always carry a burp cloth, c) If there is a silent moment in any church service, my son is sure to burp or fart during it. Luckily, in a worship center holding 3000 people, only our section got to hear the manliness of my son. This was the year the Johnson (my brother's family) spent the night at my parents' house as well. And boy was Santa generous to all of Gigi and Papa's grandkids. (Pictured to the right--William Johnson (11), Sarah Grace (9), Henry (8 months), Caroline (6), and Natalie (4). For the Johnson kids, it was Dance Dance Revolution, American Girls, and Duke paraphernalia (Ugh--William you are breaking my heart!). For Henry, Santa brought him his big boy car seat, diapers, a little people Nativity set, some weebles, a cell phone, and baby food. Of course, Henry's favorite thing was the warranty card attached to the Car Seat, but oh well. His cousins Caroline and Natalie were his official present openers. As for us, we bought him LL Bean luggage, some bath toys, and a cage we lovingly call "The Pentagon." It is actually a really nice playpen that plays music and has lights and gives Henry 18 square feet of baby-friendly floor space in which he can almost crawl around in. He is very close to crawling--he'll go forward once, but hasn't yet mastered moving his arms quite yet. He can go backwards, but mainly he likes to rock back and forth on his knees. It is the funniest when he grunts while he does it. That's right, my son is a moaning "air humper." I am so proud. Sloan's parents came up from Davidson for Christmas lunch. It was great to be able to do double duty on Christmas day and not have to pack him up.

Sloan had to work on the 26th, 27th, and 28th, so he left late Christmas afternoon. My sister and her brood of 7 came in on the 26th. They had a wheeled Christmas, the oldest 3 got "Rip sticks"--Skateboards with only 2 Rollerblade wheels, and 3 of the younger ones got old school big wheels. I think my brother-in-law, Biff, has already maimed himself on one of them. Someone needs to remind him that 42 year old men shouldn't play with their 12 year old son's toys. (HA!)